Norilsk

Norilsk (nərēlskˈ) [key], city (1989 pop. 175,000), Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia. The northernmost major city of Russia and the world's second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arctic Circle, Norilsk is the center of a region where nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, and coal are mined. A railroad links Norilsk with the Yenisei port of Dudinka, from where ores are shipped via the Northern Sea Route to European Russia. Hydroelectric plants are nearby and natural gas is found in Tyumen. Founded in 1935, Norilsk was the site of forced labor camps during the Stalin era.